07-13-2020, 10:38 AM
Who doesn't want to read a book about the battles that eventually led to the Treaty of Limerick in 1691? Okay, none of you. But I wanted to know more. They still talk about the treaty in Limerick. Mainly because the treaty was broken about a minute after it was signed. There is even a monument in the town called the Treaty Stone upon which, legend has it, the treaty was signed.
In the late 1680s and 1690s, there was a proxy war going on in Ireland between the forced allied to Catholic James II and Protestant William and Mary. William and Mary currently occupied the throne of England and James was trying to get it back. The Dutch helped William and Mary. France was on the side of James. The two sides had battle grounds all around Europe as Protestants fought Catholics and one of those was Ireland.
The really big engagement was in 1690 culminating in the Battle of the Boyne, won by the Williamite forces, but the victory wasn't decisive enough to shut down the Jacobites. So, when fighting season started again in 1691, they were back at it. The French sent some materiel and officers. The Dutch did the same. The book 1691 tells about this year of fighting and the several battles that occurred, most notably in Athlone, Augram, and finally Limerick.
On the one hand, I now have a very clear picture of what happened during that time and can extrapolate a timeline of events. I've been to a lot of places in the book, especially the ones in Limerick. I've walked the streets where the battles in Limerick took place. They mention the Lynch Castle (actually a trading house) in Galway. Good times.
But the book is poorly written. It's supposed to be a novel of those times rather than a historical reference. And it didn't quite work. They have all these meetings about battle plans from both sides and I kept wondering where Joyce got the information on what was said and done in those meetings. There were personal scenes were again I had the same questions. Did he work from historical document and personal letters or did he make it up from whole cloth? It was nice to get insight into the major players of the battles but how much of that just came from Joyce's imagination. The book really could have used and index with reference citations.
As for the writing itself, it seemed very stilted. There wasn't a lot artistry to the prose.
Unless you lived in Limerick for some of your formative years and have some questions about the history of the city, I'd give this book a pass. And if you do have those questions, it might be quicker to just go to Wikipedia.
In the late 1680s and 1690s, there was a proxy war going on in Ireland between the forced allied to Catholic James II and Protestant William and Mary. William and Mary currently occupied the throne of England and James was trying to get it back. The Dutch helped William and Mary. France was on the side of James. The two sides had battle grounds all around Europe as Protestants fought Catholics and one of those was Ireland.
The really big engagement was in 1690 culminating in the Battle of the Boyne, won by the Williamite forces, but the victory wasn't decisive enough to shut down the Jacobites. So, when fighting season started again in 1691, they were back at it. The French sent some materiel and officers. The Dutch did the same. The book 1691 tells about this year of fighting and the several battles that occurred, most notably in Athlone, Augram, and finally Limerick.
On the one hand, I now have a very clear picture of what happened during that time and can extrapolate a timeline of events. I've been to a lot of places in the book, especially the ones in Limerick. I've walked the streets where the battles in Limerick took place. They mention the Lynch Castle (actually a trading house) in Galway. Good times.
But the book is poorly written. It's supposed to be a novel of those times rather than a historical reference. And it didn't quite work. They have all these meetings about battle plans from both sides and I kept wondering where Joyce got the information on what was said and done in those meetings. There were personal scenes were again I had the same questions. Did he work from historical document and personal letters or did he make it up from whole cloth? It was nice to get insight into the major players of the battles but how much of that just came from Joyce's imagination. The book really could have used and index with reference citations.
As for the writing itself, it seemed very stilted. There wasn't a lot artistry to the prose.
Unless you lived in Limerick for some of your formative years and have some questions about the history of the city, I'd give this book a pass. And if you do have those questions, it might be quicker to just go to Wikipedia.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm